


A Job is a Job

by Haesal



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: F/M, Humor, KND 274/362, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:56:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haesal/pseuds/Haesal
Summary: "Don't act so hostile just because I slept with you last night. And damn straight, I don't regret that." Chad muttered in complete annoyance whilst attempting to nurse his headache, and Rachel was screaming bloody murder in her head. Teens Next Door Timeline. 274/362.





	A Job is a Job

_Thank you so much for all the feedback regarding my stories on this precious ship! I'm happy people are enjoying reading them and support 274/362._

_Now without further ado, this one is actually a part for a multichapter 274/362 story I planned to do for a while, but figured I wouldn't have the time finish it given it had a pretty long story line. And I thought, this section in the fic would actually make for a good independent short story that could also have a title of its own._

* * *

  _Teens Next Door Timeline_

* * *

 

Rachel's mouth visibly twitched from the corners at the sight of Maurice present in The Steve's office. She was hoping she'd be able to deliver her recent mission's report in absolute privacy without the perceiving ears of anyone but the TND Supreme Leader himself.

But luck didn't seem to look at her with kind eyes and she'd swallowed down her discomfort as she slipped her typewritten feedback from the brown envelope in her hands and quickly scanned through the details.

"Numbuh 362 here, speaking. The mission formerly at hand demanded intel to be gathered from the Teen Ninjas, specifically concerning the recent rumor of a new weapon created and distributed by the adult villains. Yesterday at approximately 7:15 pm at Wicker Park on my way home from school, I've successfully spied on an encounter between the Kids Next Door and the Teen Ninjas where the weapon debuted in battle. The architecture and usage of the armament clearly indicates that of a gun-type technology. As for what sort of ammunition it shoots, well I was able to experience firsthand its effects after being caught between the crossfire."

The Steve shifted from his seat to a less relaxed and more formal position, hinting utmost concern and seriousness in his actions upon learning that one of his agents was injured by a weapon still widely unknown in the KND. Maurice on the other hand, silently encouraged for her to proceed with her report whilst discreetly searching for any apparent wounds on her body.

"Needless to say, after getting hit by the gun I'd suffered its effects. Within seconds, I was out cold without having much memory of what happened. Although, before fainting, I can attest that it was a ray type of gun with a neon purple beam."

"Aside from fainting, were you able to recall anything regarding what happened to you? Even small details? You seem to be in tip-top condition even after the hit. Anything you did to recover immediately?" The Steve surmised his prodding might've perhaps, placed Rachel in a state of unease judging from the red-hot blush that began to creep on her cheeks. Maurice on the other hand, was more amused than concerned and knew for himself that something interesting was mixed in with her report for her to react in such a way.

It took a few seconds for Rachel to collect herself, obviously at a mild struggle and treading on unstable waters with her succeeding words.

"...When I came to, Chad was uhm,"

"Chad?" The Steve was more than surprised, aware the 2 had been close in their younger years back in the KND but caught wind that somewhere along the way, had an unappealing fall out when they entered their adolescence.

Having her just openly talking about him and even calling him by name wasn't something he quite expected.

She knew she was going to lose her head if any of the heavy atmosphere trained on her and ironically, created by herself would continue any longer. So, with all of what her composure could take, opted to relay a simple summary of what happened. It was bad enough she had to present orally, but to have to narrate _everything_? There was no way in hell for the love of Rainbow Monkeys, was she ever going to do that.

"Yes, well, Chad had brought me home after sneaking me out of the battlefield, said that it'd been a cold inducing ray which if not treated, would last for weeks, and that he brought me over to the TND's Medical and Research Department prior for an antidote and further prescriptions."

Her uncharacteristically brief retelling only did nothing but heighten the curiosity of the others present in the room. What's more, Chad's seemingly frantic behavior throughout his part in her story was quite a jump from his usual uncaring and often grumpy demeanor.

"...Was that all that happened?"

"Further details regarding what occurred in the mission is within this envelope. But, as for the important parts, then those are the only crucial ones."

For a moment, she was anxious that he probably didn't buy her dismissive retort. The Steve stared at her from under his sunglasses dead in the eye with all seriousness and Rachel though flustered, unfalteringly maintained eye contact the entire time. What felt like eons of waiting for his dismissal was a huge relief on her shoulders when he'd finally ushered for the envelope in her hands and she'd eagerly stuffed the stack of bond papers in the file holder before giving a short bid of goodbye to both her fellow operatives.

She'd felt like the door to his office was some sort of gate to heaven as she stepped closer and closer to her exit route.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to inform you that I've officially began assigning partner team-ups within the organization." Her fingers that had just grazed the brass knob froze with a single twitch, and Rachel calmly turned her head to her commanding officer, waiting for his next words.

"I haven't gone through your codename yet, but luckily for you, I think I found the perfect match."

 _'Whoever's up there, please save my poor ass.'_ Her voice rang in her head in a desperate plea.

For goodness sakes, she hoped she wouldn't hear anything that would make the tremor in her skin worse than how it was already.

"You seem to have good teamwork with Numbuh 274 judging from how he was able to carry over the mission smoothly and save things from going awry. I haven't found anyone yet that could deal with his skyrocketing ego, and since you did work well together in the past, then surely the partnership would be a breeze for you."

That was when The Steve nearly jumped out of his chair from a hard slam on his desk by the palms of a panic-stricken demon who bolted to voice her disapproval.

"W-W-What?! N-No way, you can't be serious? I-I mean, we were kids, a-and it's awkward, and w-well uhm...Why can't Maurice be his partner?" The brunet had to admit, seeing the usually composed blonde girl so rattled and face turning scarlet up to 3 shades darker than a regular tomato was causing a hint of a smile to burst on his face that truthfully, had the potential to explode into a full-blown chuckle.

"Sorry Rach, but I've already requested Abby to be my partner. Which is also the reason why I came here so early."

Never in her entire life did she wish anyone was lying to her, and the sheepish grin on Maurice' face appeared to be a sign of betrayal in her eyes, which the latter hadn't failed to notice and searched his mind just what exactly was the root cause of her odd behavior.

And she figured, things could definitely get worse when she'd heard a loud knock followed by the closing and opening of the door.

Most of the color on her face had already been drained and she'd unwillingly turned her head to face whoever it was that decided to join in the little commotion. Really, Rachel had a huge urge to smack herself on the head because even without looking, she already knew just who it was.

Chad was looking just as unamused as herself upon seeing her in the room. His lengthy blonde bangs were in a complete disarray and sleep was clearly still masking his sour face.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Her voice, lowered by 2 octaves, rumbled through his ears and he'd pinched the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to pacify his nerves.

"For Zero's sake woman, I haven't had my morning milkshake yet so don't make my headache worse. Don't act so hostile just because I slept with you last night. And damn straight, I _don't_ regret that."

Maurice violently and audibly cleared his throat at hearing such a forward statement, attempting to cool down the temperature of the room which had more than obviously, heated up to a boiling point seeing as that his Supreme Leader nearly had his sunglasses falling from their place and was burning up from his ears.

All the while, Rachel could feel their stares beginning to punch holes on her back, demanding an explanation for such a shocking revelation.

Her light-colored hair contrasted rather prettily with her smoldering face, that much Chad took note of. Having her gape at him with scrunched up brows and an angrily poised mouth just added the cherry on top and she actually gave him a reason to flash his signature smirk for the first time on that day.

And Rachel T. Mckenzie had officially detonated.

"Y-You idiot! Don't make it sound it so different. That's going to give them the wrong idea here!"

"Hey, " He'd stepped up to her face, bending his body much lower to accommodate her short stature. ", just because no one saw what happened doesn't mean it didn't ok? And besides, you were even clinging so hard to me as if your dear life depended on i—" What subsequently followed afterwards, was a kick to his abdomen and the rushed steps of a girl far too red-faced and disconcerted to push through with the exchange of words.

Chad merely scratched the back of his head in pure annoyance while attempting to stand properly and regain balance, now actually thankful for himself he hadn't had anything to fill his stomach yet, else would've puked everything out anyway.

"What is wrong with that crazy girl? Did she hate it that much?"

Again, the sounds of Maurice clearing his throat permeated the air, much more insistent this time that he'd almost cracked his voice.

"...I uhm, assume you came here to deliver a version of your well...report, am I correct?" The Steve had finally managed to nudge out a voice from his chest, yet still couldn't afford to look his junior in the eye.

"Yeah, that's right. But I'm guessing she already gave hers so you'd kinda be able to follow with what I'll be talking about."

The brunet could only square his shoulders, steeling himself for a follow-up of what his ears had graced him moments earlier and Maurice shakily chuckled.

"Wow, I uhh, never knew you'd be the type to be so bold, Chad. And with a younger woman too."

Chad could only give him a confused look, inferring for himself that taking up space and sleeping in someone else's bed uninvited might _have_ been a bit too daring.

But a job is a job, and it was his too oversee her condition to ensure that the cold inducing virus was steadily exiting her system. He'd only just left his part-time work then before coming to her rescue upon stumbling on the commotion itself, and was too tired to go home and inevitably dozed off on her bed.

He could've just wished she was less of a hugger when sleeping however. His neck was feeling like a bag of weights all morning from her vice grip the previous night when she'd treated him like a bolster pillow.

Oh well, it was her bed after all and she could do whatever she wanted with it and perhaps, his weariness didn't mean he should be so entitled to a sleeping space.

"...Yeah, maybe next time, I should warn her of what I'll do first."

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_Btw, I know I've placed this link before but I removed it since I changed URLs. But if you guys would want, you can visit my Tumblr account at sol-luminosus . tumblr . com (just remove the spaces). I post KND art here from time to time. (:_


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